Q: I have a question about the parking pawl in the transmission of my car.
When I park my CR-V, before putting my car into park I keep the brake pedal depressed and set the e-brake then put my CR-V into park so the weight of the car is on the e-brake and not the parking pawl. Normally when I go to drive my car I depress the brake pedal then release the e brake and with my foot still on the break pedal i then put my car in gear. Well i was showing someone the LED DRL lights on the front of my car but they don't turn on unless the e brake is disengaged. So without thinking i released the parking break without holding the break pedal and since the car was on a slight incline it rolled back a bit and then the parking paw locked into place. My question is, do you think there was any damage done or is that part supposed to be able to hold the weight of a car? Something like this is a very rare occurrence for me but it does happen. I would image that this part would have to be able to tolerate that. Everything seems fine to me but i still have to ask. Thank You!
My car has 20400 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
Hi Jordan. Thanks for contacting us tonight. I wouldn’t suspect that this isolated incident has damaged any of the transmission or drive-system components. Generally speaking, you are correct in the procedures for stopping on a hill and for starting to accelerate from that standing start. I like to press the foot brake before I start the car, and leave my foot on the brake while I release the E-brake, put the car in forward gear or reverse and then proceed to accelerate. That way, the potential for damage is reduced.
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